Club drop out of chase for Middlesbrough star, moving onto other targets

Yesterday, we quickly looked at the latest Marten De Roon rumours, and the news was good for Middlesbrough fans, with Gazzetta dello Sport saying Atalanta could look elsewhere after the Championship side’s demands rose to €20m.

Well, on Wednesday, the news is even better, with the same newspaper providing yet another update, this time claiming the Serie A side have pulled out altogether.

Middlesbrough’s rather excessive demands seem to have put off Atalanta, who are now said to be looking at Torino’s Afriyie Acquah and Juventus’ Tomás Rincón to bolster their midfield instead.

With the Italians dropping out of the race, it seems that Garry Monk is in a good position to keep the Dutch midfielder, who was one of the bright lights in last year’s rather tepid campaign in the Premier League.

It seems Middlesbrough have taken a rather stubborn approach to the selling side of their transfer window, asking for rather excessive prices for their players, which is, of course, well within their right.

Nantes’ chairman recently moaned in the French press about the €14m price tag for Gaston Ramirez, and there’s no sign of Boro changing their minds just yet, whether it be for the Uruguayan or De Roon.